Hawaii Warriors vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Odds, College Football Pick

Playing at the Horseshoe in Columbus is tough for any team, but for the Hawaii Warriors, who are 1-18 straight up and 9-10 against the spread over their last 19 road contests, it must appear as a mountainously daunting task. Nonetheless, that's what the Warriors face when they visit top-ranked Ohio State Saturday afternoon.

Point spread: The Buckeyes opened as 38-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 51-22.8 Buckeyes

Why the Hawaii Warriors can cover the spread

Hawaii began its fourth season under head coach Norm Chow with a 28-20 upset of Colorado, winning straight up as seven-point home dogs. The Warriors got outgained and outrushed but made a couple of big plays and took advantage of several Buffaloes miscues. They also got three touchdown passes from new starting quarterback Max Wittek, the transfer from USC.

Hawaii returned 14 starters this season from a team that finished 2-1 both SU and ATS over its last three games last season. Eight starters came back on offense, including last year's leading rusher, top two receivers and three along the line, and six returned on defense.

The last time the Warriors were getting this many points was three seasons ago, when they covered as 42-point underdogs at USC.

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes can cover the spread

The defending national champions opened their season with a 42-24 victory at Virginia Tech Monday night, covering as 14-point favorites. OSU led 14-0 right off the bat, allowed the Hokies to take a 17-14 lead at the half, then reasserted authority, scoring the next 28 points of the game to pull away.

The Buckeyes piled up 572 yards of offense, 360 on the ground, and former quarterback Braxton Miller accounted for 140 yards and two scores on just eight touches. Meanwhile, the defense beat the heck out of Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer, knocking him out of the game and removing any chance of an upset.

Ohio State returned seven starters on both sides of the ball from last year's 14-1 squad and looms as the beast of college football at the moment.

Smart pick

This game is a total mismatch; Hawaii will need a series of minor miracles to keep this one close. And since minor miracles are relatively rare, the smart money here resides with the Buckeyes.

Betting trends

Hawaii is 1-18 SU in its last 19 games on the road.

Ohio State is 1-3 ATS in its last four games against the Mountain West.

Ohio State is 17-1 SU in its last 18 games at home in September.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.